Next message: Colin Foster: "Re: lv-ab: Isolators and charging"
My system is, in my opinion, screwed up, so here's the way I'm going to
rewire. I'm going to wire the starting battery, a single group 27
directly to the starter and other engine controls, just as if it were
the only battery on board. All the other 12V electrical equipment will
remain on the house batteries (2 banks of golf cart batteries maintained
by a Link 2000/Heart 2000 watt inverter). I'm putting a combiner
between the house and starting batteries. The combiner will go on the
post connected to the house equipment and I'll have to manually switch
to all to charge both batteries. Perhaps later I'll invest in a another
combiner to extend the convienience, but then I'd have to rethink the
Link connections.
For emergencies, I'll just have to carry a set of jumper cables, in case
the starting battery won't. Or I could use a knife switch to parallel
them. Sorry, but I don't trust any relay to handle starter currents so
I'm wouldn't think of using the combiner to parallel during starting.
Warranties aren't worth much if the beast fails where Murphy lives, a
couple of light years from anywhere. 8)
In normal conditions, all I'll have to do is remember to put the battery
switch in the both/all position when running the engine. Since the
house and starting batteries are quite a bit different, I suspect I'll
have to monitor the charge states of both to make sure I'm not over or
under charging one or the other with this setup. I may have to alter my
plans if I find that to be a problem.
That's my plan. Comments?
Jim.
Wind Angel, 41' Irwin ketch http://wind-angel.com
Rick Morel wrote:
>
> We use the old manual switch method. I'm not knocking a combiner, but really
> see no real reason to spend the money and find someplace to put it. Again,
> my opinion and for my situation. I can see where it is a convenience, but
> not enough of one to remove one step from the "check list". Maybe I'd feel
> diferently if we had a power boat and a matched pair of batteries. We have a
> couple type 24 marine always in parallel for starting and four golf cart in
> series/parallel for house.
>
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